You can achieve weight loss and keep it off forever. How can I be so sure? Besides mountains of research from leading experts, there are thousands of Prevention readers who have successfully done it. Over the years, their letters and emails have been filled with practical tips, as well as the pride and pleasure of people who feel great about themselves. They can run, jump, play on the floor with the kids, wear sexy clothes—newly empowered to do whatever they want.

That's why I decided to create the book Win the Fat War, a collection of stories and successful strategies for permanent weight loss.

Believe in Yourself1. Ditch all-or-nothing thinking. Every time that Sandra Wadsworth, 41, attempted weight loss, she'd quit at the first slipup. "But I finally lost 20 pounds when Weight Watchers helped me see that I wasn't a bad person. Everyone makes mistakes. The key is to learn from them."

2. Start with a bang. At 315 pounds, Kelly Feick had long hidden behind her blond, waist-length hair. But when she decided to take a risk and cut it, her courage to change sparked a sense of purpose and commitment. Kelly, 32, began eating healthier and walking every day. In 1 year, she dropped from a size 30 to a size 4. Pounds lost: 185.

3. Seize your strength. "I stopped telling myself that I was destined to be overweight forever," says Adrienne Sussman, 52. "I accepted that whatever was broken, I had the power to fix." To get comfortable with yourself, stand in front of a mirror completely naked every couple of weeks. Find one body part that you like—even if it's your elbows! When Adrienne stopped berating herself, she shed 30 pounds.

4. Make a dream book. "Before I could change my body, I had to change my thinking," recalls Sonia Turner, 43. "To build my confidence, I created a scrapbook of people exercising and overcoming adversity. I included a photo of my husband's company Christmas party. I'd always stayed home because I was embarrassed, but I announced, 'Next year, we're going.' " When the holidays rolled around, Sonia had lost 135 pounds. She and her husband danced the night away.

5. See a pro. At age 50, George Trott was diagnosed with diabetes and heart disease. That news got him to trim down 40 pounds, but he needed to lose more. On the suggestion of his daughter, he visited a dietitian who helped him fine-tune his diet. He finally shed all the necessary pounds, and his subsequent blood tests improved, too.

6. Be flexible. Kris Roberts's schedule didn't allow her to set up a rigid exercise routine. So Kris, 37, took a different approach. "I did whatever was most convenient. My only goal was to do something to raise my heart rate and work up a sweat every day—even if only for 5 minutes." Her flexibility kept Kris motivated to exercise and enjoy it. She's maintained her 50-pound weight loss for 10 years.

7. Don't blame it on age. Connie Bissonnette, 58, had given up, believing that weight gain was a normal part of aging. Her son proved her wrong. "He said, 'Just give me 10 minutes, three times a week,' " Connie recalls. "He devised a workout of exercises such as seated leg lifts and wall pushups that I did at home." Connie began enjoying the exercises and eventually worked her way up to a 30-minute routine. Pounds lost: 41.

8. Step away from the scale. By the time Kym Hubert's weight reached 245, the 41-year-old was checking her scale three times a day. Desperate to help, her husband smashed the scale. "It was depressing having my 'addiction' taken away," she says. But she started focusing on a new weight loss interest: walking. When Kym finally weighed herself a year later, she'd lost 80 pounds.

9. Personalize your plan. Dozens of weight loss plans had failed Lisa Douglass, 29, so she created her own. "I decided to be responsible for my choices," she says. Lisa scoured exercise and nutrition materials, chose the best advice, and developed her own program. She went from 280 pounds to 160 over a 2-year period. "Even though I still make bad choices occasionally, I like the fact that I'm making them," she says. [pagebreak]

Set the Right Goals10. Build on success. More than 10 years ago, Marlene Dropp, 54, took her first walk around the block in an effort to lose some of her 200 pounds. She set a goal of 5 miles a day. When she achieved that landmark within 2 months, she came up with a new goal: to cover a mile in 13 minutes. She did that easily and lost 50 pounds in 2 years. Then Marlene began entering racewalking competitions—and had the thrill of completing a marathon for her 51st birthday.

11. Use a symbol. Dinah Burnette, 38, hung an expensive black dress on her closet door. At 245 pounds, she couldn't even pull it over her hips. "I tried it on every 4 weeks. When I eventually got in it, the buttons were 4 feet apart!" she laughs. One year later and 100 pounds lighter, she fit into the size 12 with room to spare. Ten years later, Dinah still keeps her size 24 dress in the closet as a reminder.

Eat More12. Move to eat. Rick Myers's choice was this: Eat fewer calories, or burn more with exercise. He chose the latter and took off more than 50 pounds. In the beginning, Rick, 46, could barely walk for 15 minutes at a time. Now he runs about 1 hour every day, covering roughly 7 miles. "I switched from walking to running to burn even more calories," he says.

13. Fill up. A 50-year battle of the bulge ended when Helen Stein, 73, admitted her love of eating. Instead of cutting down, she eats large salads, big pink grapefruits, whole cantaloupes, and big chunks of watermelon. These make her feel full without the fat or calories piling up. And Helen hasn't regained an ounce of the 38 pounds that she lost 15 years ago.

14. Seduce your tastebuds. When Alice Layne, 42, traded in pizza for international cuisine, she lost 67 pounds and four dress sizes. "The new tastes transformed my palate."

15. Get it fresh. Carla Tuckerton, 44, stopped having headaches and lost 20 pounds when she gave up highly processed foods. "Almost everything I ate was processed and loaded with artificial sweeteners or salt. I was practically living on frozen dinners, diet sodas, and sugar-free desserts."

Now Carla buys fish and chicken from a farmers' market, shops for organically grown fruits and veggies, and cooks her own meals. Spring water with a slice of lemon has replaced colas, and she drinks her tea unsweetened.

16. Don't start empty. Susan Carlson, 42, always chose an extra 15 minutes of sleep over a bowl of cereal, until her slim friends advised her to eat breakfast. She started slowly with a slice of toast and a cup of coffee, gradually adding a bowl of cold or hot cereal. Her lunches got smaller, and she stopped snacking on cookies and chips in the afternoon. Pounds lost: 36.

17. Earmark "occasion" foods. Rosemary Chiaverini, 50, lost 87 pounds when she began linking eating to special events. She eats hamburgers and hot dogs only at picnics, popcorn only at the movies, and pasta only on theater nights. "I tie my eating to the ambience of what I'm doing. It gives the food extra meaning," she says. It also gives Rosemary license to indulge without going overboard.

18. Snack on cereal. Teresa Pucsek's weight loss stalled because of her apple streudel, a favorite treat that reminded her of her childhood in Hungary. "I had to figure out a way to eat differently but still get that familiar 'old home' feeling," says the 80-year-old. Her solution: sweetened cereal. The sugar satisfies her sweet tooth, and the milk reminds her of her childhood. This satisfying, lower-calorie snack has helped her maintain an 86-pound weight loss for 24 years. [pagebreak]

Eat Smart19. Dine alone. Debbee Sereduck, 38, dropped an astounding 234 pounds when, after preparing dinner for her family, she started taking hers into the living room and didn't return until everything in the kitchen was completely put away. "This kept me from taking extra helpings or finishing the kids' uneaten food," says Debbee. "It also gave me a little quiet time."

20. Create "The End." Linda O'Hanlon, 30, never got the "full" signal that makes most people push away their plates. "When I sat down for a spaghetti dinner, I didn't get up until every last strand was gone," she says. Instead of relying on her stomach, Linda decided to start measuring her portions. After her brain took charge, she proceeded to drop three pants sizes. Two years later, Linda's holding steady at 151 pounds and now can eyeball her portions.

21. Read the box. Phyllis Barbour, 70, ate all the right weight loss foods, worked out three or four times a week, and was on her feet constantly. So she was puzzled when her clothes started feeling a bit snug. Then Phyllis picked up a package of her beloved bagels and read the nutrition label. One of those big, doughy delectables equaled four servings of bread. When she checked other labels, she found more of the same. "I saw an immediate difference when I started paying closer attention to serving sizes," she says. Pounds lost: 7.

22. Check your fluids. For Lent, Jim Gorman, 33, substituted water and club soda for sugary beverages and alcohol. By Easter, 40 days later, he was 20 pounds lighter.

23. Switch your plate. Eating less wasn't easy for Gretchen Harvey, 32, until she substituted a salad plate for a dinner plate. (The former holds only about 60% of the amount of food.) "I was still seeing a full plate of food, so psychologically it didn't seem that I was denying myself anything," she says. Gretchen lost 30 pounds.

Get Moving24. Use nervous energy. When you're under stress, your body releases adrenaline in anticipation of either fighting or fleeing. But in combating everyday stress, that biological response can urge you to eat. When Robert Kim, 36, took up running to deal with pressure, he lost 45 pounds.

25. Breathe, don't gasp. LisaKay Wojcik, 33, was so overweight and out of shape that 2 minutes' worth of low-impact aerobics left her so breathless that she called 911. A doctor at the hospital told her that she was breathing incorrectly. "He told me to breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth while exercising, and to exhale harder to force a deeper inhale. This sends more oxygen to the muscles." Two years later, LisaKay had lost 215 pounds and gone from a size 36 to a size 2.

26. Catch up to reading. Books on tape helped Rebecca Harding, 49, run off 68 pounds and keep it off for 15 years. "I played the tapes only when I was running," she says. "Recently, when I ran to a tape of The Horse Whisperer, I went almost 9 miles up a steep hill in the rain!"

27. Stretch out. At 220 pounds, Melissa MacKinnon, 33, decided to try yoga. "It looked so relaxing and easy, so perfect for my imperfect body," she says. Melissa's energy level soared, and as she became more attuned to her body, she began to crave vegetables, not chocolate. She replaced refined sugars with whole grains. "As yoga rewired my mind, I learned to take better care of my body," she says. Melissa's held to her 60-pound weight loss for 7 years.

28. Get out. Sharon Evans, 38, got involved in orienteering (a sport where you find your way using only a compass and a map) to improve her navigational skills for backpacking. Being out in the fresh air replaced eating in front of the TV. As her orienteering skills grew, her waistline shrank. Pounds lost: 20.

29. Phone-ercise. When Jeri Jefferis, now 57, left her job as a phys-ed instructor, she worried about regaining the 30 pounds she had lost earlier. With two small children, she was hard-pressed to find time to work out. Then she realized that chatting with friends, listening to phone solicitations, even being put on hold were opportunities to keep in shape. "Sometimes I'd simply pace the floor. Other times, I'd do squats or leg lifts. If I hadn't started doing that, I know I'd have a weight problem today."

30. Act out. Kirie Pedersen's job was making her fat. "Virtually every day for 6 years, I was glued to a chair," says the 48-year-old. Kirie began stretching in the morning. She swung her arms vigorously when she walked. "I'd also set a timer to go off every hour," she says. "That was my cue: For 15 minutes, I'd squat, skip, wiggle, dance—whatever I felt like doing—just like kids do." A year later, Kirie was 40 pounds slimmer, wearing a size 6 instead of a 14.

Build Muscle31. Turn a La-Z-Boy into a Busy-Boy. Lynn Oatman, 48, doesn't relax when she sits down. She hoists a pair of dumbbells up and down for about half an hour while watching TV. "I've gone from somebody who could barely lift a 10-pound bag of potatoes to bench-pressing 75 pounds. It makes me feel powerful," she boasts. Lynn has dropped 60 pounds in 2 years.

32. Shape a new body. Watching a bodybuilding competition on TV 20 years ago spurred Sharon Turrentine—who had not exercised in years—to head for the gym. "Five pounds was the most that I could lift when I started," recalls Sharon, 55. "Now I bench-press more than 100 pounds."

Within 3 years, Sharon dropped four dress sizes. The person who'd once undressed in her closet decided to show off her 5'2", 109-pound body in competition. Over the years, she's brought home 15 trophies.[pagebreak]

Binge-Proof Your Life33. Sip tea to de-stress. While Jeanette Green ate well during the day, as soon as she got home from work, she’d binge—leading to a weight of more than 300 pounds. She finally made a connection between her postwork habit and something from an Overeaters Anonymous meeting she’d once attended: “ 'If you get your head straight, your body will follow.' " The next day, Jeanette brewed a cup of herbal tea as soon as she walked through the door. Then she curled up to relax and recharge. Her teatime became a treasured ritual and stopped the munchies. She took off 140 pounds and has maintained her weight loss for more than 18 years.

34. Nurture yourself without food. Coping with a fractured marriage and a stressful job, Lynne Watson found joy in only one thing: eating. Daily chocolate doughnuts, pizza, and cookies led to a weight of 230 pounds—and a new low: “The way I figured it, I could end my life or take control of it. I decided to grab control.” She ended her marriage, got her bachelor’s degree, and started to feel empowered—and discovered the intense cravings stopped. “As I met new people, I relied on them, not food, for comfort and companionship.” Lynne went on to lose 111 pounds in 4 years.

35. Avoid food pushers. John DeGennaro, a 42-year-old truck driver, traded an alcohol and drug addiction for another one: food. Unhappy with the 232 pounds he was carrying on her 5’2” frame, John sought help from a dietitian and realized that he couldn’t say no. “If I was offered a doughnut at a customer’s office, I’d not only eat two more, but I’d hit every doughnut shop along my route.” His solution? Make deliveries and get back to his truck. This small change, along with getting more exercise, let to a 67-pound loss in two years.

36. Dress for success. Tired of starting every winter with a closetful of clothes that didn’t fit, Julie Portner, 38, took a preemptive strike and signed up for Weight Watchers one fall. With healthy food choices and exercise, as well as monthly weigh-ins, Julie lost 20 pounds in 6 months, and her once too-small winter clothes fit. “I’ve reached a point where my desire to continue fitting into my clothing is stronger than my desire to overeat,” she says.

37. Postpone an indulgence. When she sees a favorite food—like the steak fries her cafeteria serves at work—Verona Mucci-Hurlburt engages in a postponement strategy that’s helped her lose 60 pounds in 9 months. Instead of forbidding certain foods, she simply delays her indulgences. For example: “The cafeteria served the steak fries every 2 weeks. Instead of saying I couldn’t have them, I’d tell myself ‘Wait until next time.’ Two weeks later, I’d ask myself if I still wanted them. Sometimes I did. Other times I could pass them up.”

38. Grab a magazine. When the fridge calls Cynthia Herrmann, 48, she picks up a magazine or newspaper. "If I still feel hungry after reading for 15 minutes, I eat. But I often get so absorbed that 30 minutes fly by, and the craving's gone," she says. Pounds lost: 90.

39. Follow the beat. Bingeing was Mark Maron's way to deal with a work crisis, a fight with a loved one, or anything else that made him feel bad. One day, Mark, 36, decided to skip his usual fast-food place and head for the music store. "I picked out two CDs, including one featuring my favorite song, 'Born to Be Alive,'" he recalls. He got so pumped up that he forgot about food and headed for the gym. That habit eventually erased 25 pounds.[pagebreak]

Talk Yourself Thin40. Carry a pen. "I was tired of compliments that stopped at my face," says Juanita Dillard, a 37-year-old makeup artist who weighed 274 pounds. "I was constantly surrounded by thin, gorgeous models, and I wanted to be like them."

Juanita started writing about her stress instead of feeding it. Within a year and a half, she dropped from a size 24 to a size 6. One time, halfway through a binge brought on by the stress of losing her pet, Juanita reached into her purse and felt her journal. Out it came, and she started writing. After putting her feelings down on paper, her desire to eat was gone. "Journalizing has become my no-cal stress buster," she says.

41. Work with your personality, not against it. Regina Owen used her addictive personality to turn from sleeping pills and food to exercise. She walks every morning and hits the gym every night. “Yes, I’m obsessive. But at least the whole exercise thing is a healthy obsession for me. That hasn’t always been so,” she says. Her devotion to working out enabled her to lose 65 pounds, going from a size 22 to a 10.

42. Think thin. After years of dieting, Leigh Anne Congdon finally took off—and kept off—30 pounds. And she did it by learning to think like a thin person. “I had noticed that my friends who were thin didn’t constantly dwell on what they were eating. They ate when they were hungry and said, ‘No, thanks,’ when they weren’t. I followed their example and tried to stop obsessing about food.”

43. Get the support you need. At age 29, Olivia Williamson’s doctor told her she had high blood pressure and would be on meds the rest of her life unless she did something about it. While she’d tried diet and exercise plans in the past, she’d never been able to stick with them. So she signed up for a 6-week weight management course, followed by weekly support group meeting for 4 months. “Just being able to tell the group, ‘I’m doing it, I’m sticking with it’ made me feel better,” she says. The proof: Within one year, she’s lost 45 pounds and her blood pressure has returned to normal.

Make Motivation Easy44. Revisit the pits. When Beth Linden, who'd lost 100 pounds, slipped back to her old habits and regained 15 pounds, she pulled out the audiotape that documented the worst moment of her life. "I could hear my voice quiver as I described meeting my daughter's friend, who said, 'I didn't know your mommy was fat.' I hated putting my daughter in such an awkward situation; I felt lonely and empty. I was embarrassed to shop for clothes. I hated myself back then and didn't want to go back there," recalls Beth, 39. The tape turned her around and has kept her on the weight loss track for more than 5 years.

45. Schedule nudges. Bevan Brooks, 22, used a calendar full of motivational "carrots" to shed 20 pounds. "I would remind myself of parties, trips, sporting events, visitors from out of town, and weddings in the weeks and months ahead," she says. "Every time I'd consider bagging a workout or eating pepperoni pizza, I'd remind myself of an upcoming event. How I looked meant more to me than any piece of pizza."

46. Take a time-out. "I relaxed my strict dietary rules on weekends, and I stopped feeling deprived," says Helene Gullaksen, 35. "When a craving hits during the week, I tell myself, 'This isn't the last time I can eat this food,' and it helps me walk away from whatever is tempting me." Pounds lost: 50.[pagebreak]

47. Be blunt (with yourself). Oprah Winfrey and her personal trainer, Bob Greene, inspired 300-pound Tawni Gomes to start exercising when the 34-year-old met Greene at a book signing. "I heard another woman ask him how she was supposed to find time to exercise with four kids, a house, and a full-time job," recalls Tawni. "Bob looked her straight in the eye and said, 'You're not ready to lose weight.' I was shocked, but realized that I was making identical excuses.

Everybody has the same number of hours in a day. If people busier than I can find time to exercise, so can I." The next morning, Tawni got up early to walk. It was the start of what would become a daily ritual. Pounds lost: 125.

48. Cover the clock. Some nights, Mitch Lipka, 34, could barely look at his stationary bike, let alone ride it. Then he developed the diversionary tactic of throwing a towel or T-shirt over the timer to concentrate on something else. He'd get so lost in thought that the time was up before he even knew it. Now he never misses a session. Pounds lost: 200.

49. Do 10, then switch. Whenever Cheryl Allard, 50, goes to the gym, she uses one machine for 10 minutes, then moves on to something else. This boredom-beating strategy worked so well that Cheryl started going to the gym 6 days a week. Within a year, she took off 100 pounds.

50. Showcase "before" photos. Both Julia Ferraro, 37, and her mother, Adelaide, were 5'2" tall and weighed 205 pounds. A family picture brought them to tears. "You can know that you're getting bigger, but it doesn't hit you until you look at a picture of yourself," says Julia. Instead of stashing the photo out of sight, they agreed to display it prominently for weight loss motivation. Since that shot was taken, the two have lost a combined 90 pounds and five dress sizes-and they've added a new, beaming mother/daughter photo to their tabletop gallery.

51. Be your own coach. Jeanann Pock, 29, had trouble getting up early to walk until she read a quote from legendary football coach Vince Lombardi: "Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all-the-time thing." Says Jeanann, "I realized that I had to win every little battle along the way-including the skirmishes with my alarm clock. I had to think like a winner to become one." Now, Jeanann throws off the covers every morning. Pounds lost: 85.

Reward Yourself52. Celebrate every victory. Susan DeFusco ultimately managed to shed 100 pounds, but day-to-day, she focused on losing just the next 5. Each time she accomplished one of those baby steps, she would reward herself with a bubble bath or an exercise tape. "You need to look at each 5-pound loss as something worth celebrating," advises the 38-year-old.